Moorcroft - the Possession: Book One of the Moorcroft Trilogy by Sandra Callister Page A

didn’t come up to his standards. It was a happy house most of the time, but the young girls who came in from the village to clean the house thought it was spooky and said that strange things happened in the upstairs rooms and they always went in twos if they had to go in the attic. The house could be lovely and warm with all the fires blazing away, but the attic rooms were always icy cold. The butler had cautioned the girls not to mention any strange events outside the house on fear of being dismissed. Only Mr Howard and the stable hand stayed on at the house, the rest of the staff lived out in the village, so it was nice in the late afternoon just before dinner, for the three of them to sit around the kitchen table with a cup of tea and one of Mrs Shaw’s fruit cakes and have a natter and catch up on local gossip. Soon the young masters would be home, the girls back from their workplaces and all bedlam would be let loose. Miss Victoria was such a pleasant young woman and spent most of her time here at Moorcroft. Mary had mentioned on more than one occasion how she had seen her and Richard Gardener canoodling when they thought no one was looking. Hearing car doors banging and the steady flow of chatter, Mrs Shaw stood, cleared the table and urged Mary to check on the dinner. The peace and quiet had ended.
    In Victoria’s room Charlotte was busy looking through the wardrobes and drawers, pulling out clothes and tossing them on the bed. She sat at the dressing table and brushed her hair, turning her head from side to side admiring herself. How could Richard prefer that silly girl to the handsome woman looking back at her? She heard the car on the gravel and dashed to the window. Looking down she saw Charles and Richard vacate their Land Rover, laughing and patting each other on the back. Richard looked up at the window and waved. He had seen her. She quickly stepped back from the window her heart a flutter, was now the moment to show herself? She could hear heavy foot falls on the stairs, he was coming. As he opened the door he was calling for Victoria, she melted into the shadows. He looked around the room, it was empty, and again he called Victoria and saw the mess of clothes on her bed. Was someone playing tricks here? He checked that none of Vicky’s clothes were damaged. Had she left them there or was someone playing a spiteful game? He looked around the room; he could feel its chill. He picked up the garments, dresses, skirts, blouses, there were so many things thrown around, piled on the bed. He quickly put them back where he thought they belonged as best he could. If Vicky had left them out she would only think that the staff had put them away, he didn’t want her upset again. He ran back downstairs calling her name. Emily napping in the drawing room gently eased herself from the chair and went to see what the commotion was all about. Richard was coming down the stairs.
    “Have you seen Victoria Mother?”
    “She’s not back from work yet.” She looked at her watch. “She shouldn’t be long now. Is something the matter?”
    “I could have sworn I saw her at the bedroom window, I must have been mistaken.”
    Just then the main door opened and in walked Victoria, followed by a noisy Sarah. Both girls were soaking wet from the rain. Richard moved forward and helped Victoria out of her wet coat and kissed her cheek. Sarah looked at the two of them. She stood there in her sopping coat, her umbrella dripping on the floor.
    “Oh, don’t you two worry about me. I’ll just struggle on my own.”
    Richard laughed and took hold of her umbrella and helped her with her coat. “Come here you little pip squeak.”
    Over dinner the conversation turned to the management of the estate. Emily saw her husband slump further in his seat, his food hardly touched.
    Emily tapped the side of her glass. “Right, I forbid any more talk about the farms, the horses or this house. Let’s talk about something more cheerful, surely